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Study 17: God's Character, Justice, and the Fate of the Wicked

Is Infinite Torment Consistent with Biblical Justice?

A Note on How to Study

Throughout this series, we distinguish between what the Bible explicitly says and what people infer from the Bible. These are not the same thing.

  • Explicit: You can point to a verse and quote it. The text directly says this.
  • Inference: Someone claims the Bible teaches something, but no single verse says it. They have drawn a conclusion — possibly a good one, possibly not — but the conclusion itself is not in the text.

This distinction is especially important in this study. Many people assume they know what God's character requires regarding the fate of the wicked. But what does God Himself say about His own character — and what does that character tell us about the nature of His judgments?

Section A: God's Self-Revealed Character

  1. Read Exodus 34:6-7. God proclaims His own name and character: "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." How many attributes describe mercy in this formula, and how many describe judgment?

  2. Read Exodus 34:7 again. God's mercy extends to "thousands" while His judgment of iniquity extends "unto the third and to the fourth generation." What is the ratio of mercy to judgment in God's own self-description?

  3. This self-description formula is repeated throughout the Old Testament: Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2. What does the fact that Scripture repeats this formula at least five additional times tell you about its importance?

  4. Read Lamentations 3:33. "He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." The Hebrew word translated "willingly" is milibo — literally "from his heart." According to this text, does God's heart desire to afflict people?

Section B: God's Anger — Temporary or Permanent?

  1. Read Psalm 103:9. "He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever." According to this text, is God's anger permanent or temporary?

  2. Read Micah 7:18. "He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy." What reason does the text give for why God does not retain anger forever?

  3. Read Psalm 30:5. "His anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." How does this verse compare the duration of anger to the duration of favor?

  4. If God "retaineth not his anger for ever" (Mic 7:18) and "will not always chide" (Ps 103:9), what would it mean for God to sustain conscious torment for eternity? Would that be consistent with these statements?

Section C: God's Attitude Toward the Death of the Wicked

  1. Read Ezekiel 18:23. "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?" What answer does this rhetorical question expect?

  2. Read Ezekiel 33:11. "As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." God swears by His own life. What does He say He desires for the wicked?

  3. Read 2 Peter 3:9. "Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Read also 1 Timothy 2:4. "Who will have all men to be saved." According to these texts, what is God's stated desire for all people?

  4. If God has "no pleasure in the death of the wicked" and is "not willing that any should perish," what would eternal conscious torment — sustained by God's power, without end — say about God's character?

Section D: Proportional Justice

  1. Read Romans 2:5-6. God "will render to every man according to his deeds." Read also Job 34:11. "The work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways." What standard does God use to determine punishment — the nature of the offended party, or the deeds of the offender?

  2. Read Luke 12:47-48. The servant who knew his lord's will receives "many stripes"; the servant who did not know receives "few stripes." What does this parable teach about whether punishment is uniform or proportional?

  3. Read Matthew 10:15. "It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city." If judgment is "more tolerable" for some than others, what does that require about the nature of punishment?

  4. Read Hebrews 2:2. "Every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward." The Greek word misthapodosia means "a paying back." If punishment is a "just recompense" — a proportional paying back — can finite sins produce an infinite penalty?

Section E: The Pattern of Historical Judgments

  1. Read the following passages and note what happened in each divine judgment:

    • The flood: Genesis 7:21-23 — "All flesh died... every man... all... were destroyed"
    • Sodom: Genesis 19:24-25 — "The LORD... overthrew those cities"
    • Korah: Numbers 16:31-35 — "They perished... the fire... consumed them"
    • Nadab and Abihu: Leviticus 10:1-2 — "There went out fire... and devoured them, and they died"

    In all of these divine judgments, what is the result — death/destruction or ongoing torment?

  2. Read Psalm 145:17,20. "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works... The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy." The Hebrew word for "destroy" is shamad — meaning to annihilate, exterminate. According to this text, what does God do with the wicked?

Explicit or Inference?

For each statement below, decide: Does the Bible explicitly say this (you can point to a verse), or is it an inference (a conclusion someone draws that no verse directly states)?

A. "God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezek 18:23; 33:11). - [ ] Explicit — the Bible says this - [ ] Inference — someone concluded this

B. "Sin against an infinite God deserves infinite punishment." - [ ] Explicit — the Bible says this - [ ] Inference — someone concluded this

C. "God will render to every man according to his deeds" (Rom 2:6). - [ ] Explicit — the Bible says this - [ ] Inference — someone concluded this

D. "God retaineth not his anger for ever" (Mic 7:18). - [ ] Explicit — the Bible says this - [ ] Inference — someone concluded this

E. "Eternal conscious torment is the just penalty for sin." - [ ] Explicit — the Bible says this - [ ] Inference — someone concluded this